Welcome to Jefferson Early Childhood Center!  My name is Joy Tosto and I will be your child’s teacher this upcoming school year. I went to Concordia University (River Forest, IL.) for my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a Special Education endorsement. I also have my master’s degree from Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais, IL) in Curriculum and Instruction. This is my 16th year teaching at Jefferson Early Childhood Center.  Teaching is my passion - I was meant to work with young children and there is nothing I would rather do!

Some of my favorite things to do are spend time with my family (husband Nic and our 5 children: Dominic (23), Rory (21), Brie (20), Olivia (17) and Tye (12).  I also enjoy working out and running, walking my black lab, traveling, watching sports, and spending time with my amazing friends.

 I am super excited to start a new school year! The classroom has many professionals that are here to support and teach your child. There is a speech language pathologist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, and a social worker who will be integrating services within the classroom. Our classroom will also consist of classroom assistants that  help support students with following directions, implementing our daily schedule and routine, and simply helping to make the day run smoothly.

Students attend school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  Mondays are a non-attendance day for students. However, staff meets as a team to plan and prepare for the week. Our morning session meets from 9:15-11:45 AM and the afternoon session meets from 1:00-3:30 PM. Throughout the school day there are structured learning times (one-on-one learning plus large and small group instruction), as well as unstructured times where your child can play in various centers around the classroom. This provides the students with plenty of opportunities to develop social emotional skills, academic skills, and independent functioning skills. Our learning centers include dramatic play, blocks, art, writing, science, sensory table, library and many tabletop activities (puzzles, file folder games and much more). We are lucky enough to get 20 minutes a day of gross motor time, outside when the weather cooperates or in our amazing gym when the weather is bad.  Communication is KEY!  I am always available by email or phone call before and after school as well as at lunch hour when I do not have a meeting. Weekly classroom newsletters will be sent home every Friday.  The classroom and Jefferson newsletters are also available on our website. Please do not hesitate to email or call with questions or concerns. 

The classroom team and I are looking forward to getting to know you and your child!